There aren't many better times to launch a family-friendly streaming service than four months before everyone gets locked inside — and it showed for Disney.
After launching in November 2019, Disney+ went on to hit 100 million subscribers in record time. People were watching more content than ever, and Disney felt confident it could raise its targets. It settled on a goal of between 230 million and 260 million subscribers by the end of 2024.
After such a fast start, many thought that would be easy for the house of mouse — but yesterday Disney said things were slowing down, with the company adding just two million new paid customers in its latest quarter.
The good news for Disney is that its Parks division swung back into profit, thanks to a doubling of its revenue compared to this time last year. The bad news is that the stock market didn't seem to care, with the focus presumably on the streaming slowdown, which sent Disney's shares down more than seven percent yesterday.
DATA SNACKS
- More than 50% of the domestic box office takings for sci-fi epic Dune were in premium formats such as IMAX in its opening weekend, suggesting audiences sought out a premium experience for the visual effects. Trailer here.
- Famed venture capital firm Sequoia has announced a radical change-up in its strategy: abandoning the traditional fund structure and rigid timelines. As a VC firm that's backed Google, Oracle, Instagram, Zoom, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and many others, Sequoia probably won't have trouble finding investors for its new structure.
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- Astronomers may have discovered the first planet outside of our galaxy. It's 23 million light-years away (give or take a few).